Prevention of jamming, in an automatic entrance having sliding door, under a panic condition



Aug. 30, 966 E. DIMMITT ETAL 3,269,060

PREVENTION OF JAMMING, IN AN AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE HAVING SLIDING DOOR, UNDER A PANIC CONDITION Filed Feb. 17, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G l ROBERT E. DIMMITT CHARLES KESSNER INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS g- 1966 R. E. DIMMITT ETAL 3,259,060

PREVENTION OF JAMMING, IN AN AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE HAVING SLIDING DOOR, UNDER A PANIC CONDITION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1965 ROBERT E. DIMMITT GHARtES KESSNER INVENTOR. g?

ATTORNEYS g- 30, 1966 R E. DlMMlTT ETAL 3,

PREVENTION OF JAMMING, IN AN AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE HAVING SLIDING DOOR, UNDER A PANIC CONDITION Flled Feb 17, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 RT E. DIMMITT QIQEIELES KESSNER INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,269,069 PREVENTIGN 01F JAMMING, IN AN AUTOMATIC ENTRANQE HAVING SLIDING DOOR, UNDER A PANIC CGNDiTION Robert E. Dimmitt and Charles Kessner, Seattle, Wash,

assignors to Dot-West, Ina, Seattle, Wash, a corporation of Washington Filed Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 433,383 8 Claims. (Cl. 49-264) This invention is a continuation-in-part of application for Letters Patent to Automatic Entrance Having Sliding Door, Ser. No. 362,247, filed April 24, 1964. The invention relates to an automatic entrance of the type having a sliding door for closing an entrance opening, and wherein such slide-mounted door admits of being swung manually from a closed to an open position, either in the event that a power-driven operator responsible for actuating the door in its slide movement should become inactive, or a fire, earthquake or the like should occur with the result that individuals within a building panic and rush the door.

In its opening slide travel the door moves from the entry-way into a pocket which lies to one side thereof. Mats over which a person walks in his approach to the entry-way cause the door to open. These mats are commonly referred to as electric carpets. Support for the door in its slide travel is provided by an overhead .track. A carriage rides on this track, and a mounting frame for the door is hung from the carriage. The mounting frame is formed to an inverted-L configuration so that there is provided a horizontal leg along the top and a vertical leg depending therefrom. The vertical leg lies at the inner end of the frame, and namely the end which first enters the pocket in a door-opening operation. The door proper is hinged to the frame for swing movement about a vertical axis lying proximal to and paralleling the frames vertical leg, and normally underlies and is co-planar with the horizontal leg. A yielding catch is provided between the upper edge of the door and the horizontal leg of the mounting frame so that the door is normally held in a position co-planar with the frame.

In the engineering of an automatic entrance having a sliding door, consideration to panic conditions are of vital importance. It must be recognized that a panicked person or persons, rafter traversing the electric carpet in the desire to make an exodus, starts the door sliding but gives the same time to move only part way into its pocket before subjecting an exposed portion of said door to outward pressure. In such a circumstance, with the door precluded from swinging outwardly because its hinge pins have moved into the pocket, it is vital that the door he safeguarded against jamming so that the same will stay mobile and be enabled to either continue its opening slide travel or return to a closed position so that the opening of the passage-way can be accomplished by swinging the door open.

Having the foregoing in mind, the present invention has for its object to provide an automatic entrance of the sliding door type having the door so mounted that the same will remain mobile when subjected to outwardly directed manual pressure after a powered slide opening has commenced.

This and other more particular objects and advantages will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a somewhat schematic elevational view showing an automatic entrance of the sliding door type,

the entrance here shown being provided with two coplanar doors e-ach of which, in its opening travel, moves into a respective wall pocket located at a related side of the entry-way.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are each a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view employing the same scale as FIG. 2 and drawn on lines 3-3 of FIG. 2, 44 of FIG. 1, and 5-5 of FIG. 1, respectively; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the circuitry pressure air and electricwhich operates the door in its opening and closing slide movements.

The entry-way to which the present automatic'operating sliding door is applied is denoted in FIG. 2 of the drawing by the numeral 10 and lies between inner and outer passage-ways of an established trafiic path. In his approach to the entry-way, either in entering or leaving a building, a person traverses an electric carpet (not shown). Upon such traversal the switch A (FIG. 6) for a normally open electric circuit is energized and through suit-able mechanism causes the door to slide out of the entry-Way into a wall pocket 11 located to one side of the entry-Way. The door returns to its closed position when the switch opens, which occurs when the carpets are relieved of the persons weight. It will be understood that the entryway may be closed either by a single door having a width approximating the full width of the entry-way or by two in-line doors each having a width approximating one-half the width of the entrance opening. For a single door a pocket is provided only at one side of the entryway. For two doors pockets are provided at both sides. The two doors open and close in concert.

The entry-way and the wall pocket are each prolonged upwardly to produce a head recess 12. An overhead track 13 is supported in such recess to occupy a position on the transverse median line of the entry-way and extends substantially the full length of the recess. Wheels 14 for a carriage 15 ride on the track. Non-rise rollers 16 complement the carriage wheels. The door of the present invention, or more properly a frame to which a swing section 17 is hinged, is suspended from the carriage.

The frame has an inverted-L configuration, providing a horizontal header 18 at the top which underlies and is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the carriage and a vertical leg 19 which depends from the inner end of the header, or which is to say the end thereof which first enters the wall pocket. The swing section normally lies in co-planar relation to the frame with its inner edge, paralleling the vertical leg 19 and its upper edge paralleling the header 18. Hinges (not shown) connect the swing section to the frame for swing movement about a vertical axis paralleling the outer edge of the vertical leg in spaced proximity thereof.

The top edge of the swing section 17 interfits with the header 18 of the mounting frame by a tongue-and-groove connection, with the groove of the former pointing inwardly in relation to the entry-way and with the groove of the latter pointing outwardly. The tongues 20 and 21 have a fore-and-aft length shorter than the depths of the grooves so as, when interfitted, to permit said swing section and the frame to be in their co-planar relationship. A bullet catch (not shown) positioned adjacent the free edge of the swing section 17 localizes the frame and the swing section in this co-planar relationship. When the two tongues are interfitted, the tongue 20 of the swing section rests upon the tongue 21 of the header so as to be supported directly there-by and relieve the hinge pins of the weight of the swing section of the door.

The above-described structure is more particularly illustrated and described in applications for patent which movement between a normal closed position occupying the entry-way and an open position occupying the pocket, said door comprising a frame section guidably supported for said slide movement and a swing section hinged to the frame for swing motion about a vertical axis which lies close to the pocket side of the entry-way when the door is in said normal closed position, means for moving the door in its opening slide travel and in its closing slide travel, a normally incomplete electric circuit normally caused to be completed when a person enters a given traffic lane which includes the entry-way, said electric circuit being so operatively associated with both the dooropening and the door-closing means that a door-opening effort is exerted when the electric circuit is completed and a door-closing effort is exerted when the electric circuit is broken, and means operatively associated with said electric circuit causing the same to be made incomplete when manual pressure, exerted in a direction which is outward with respect to the entry-way, is applied against the swing section while the door is in the process of sliding open.

2. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 1 in which the frame section of the door includes a horizontal leg which overlies the swing section, said last-named means comprising a micro-switch carried by said horizontal leg in a position to be engaged by the free end of said swing section.

3. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 1 in which means are provided operatively associated with the door for positively holding the door against liability of becoming jammed Within the pocket as a consequence of having said manual pressure exerted upon the swing section of the door while the door is in the process of sliding open.

4. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 3 in which the means last recited includes rollers located within the pocket.

5. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 3 in which the means last recited includes an upper roller and a lower roller each j ournaled to turn about a vertical axis and functioning in the instance of the upper roller to resist pressure which would tend to deflect the upper portion of the door laterally in a direction which is outward with respect to the flow of traflic through the entry-way and in the instance of the lower roller to resist pressure which would tend to deflect the lower portion of the door laterally in a direction which is inward with respect to the flow of trafiic through the entry-Way.

6. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 3 in which the means last recited includes a roller carried by the frame section of the door for rotation about'a vertical axis located adjacent the doors inner edge and by force of said outward pressure caused to bear against an immovable guide surface extending parallel to the path of the frame sections slide travel on a level adjacent to the bottom edge of the door.

7. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 1 in which means are provided operatively associated with the door for positively holding the door against liability of becoming jammed within the pocket as a consequence of having said manual pressure exerted upon the swing section of the door while the door is in the process of sliding open, the means last recited including (1) a roller carried by the door for rotation about a vertical axis and by force of said outward pressure caused to bear against an immovable guide surface extending parallel to the path of the frame se'ctions slide travel, and (2) a roller journaled to turn about a stationary vertical axis lying closely adjacent to the access opening through which the door enters the pocket in a position to track against a lower portion of the outer face of the door.

8. An automatic entrance as claimed in claim 7 having a third roller journaled to turn about a stationary vertical axis lying closely adjacent to said access opening in a position to track against an upper portion of the outer face of both the Vertical leg and the door.

References (Jited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 433,678 8/1890 Gillette 20--19 1,442,397 1/1923 Gorrani 2052.l 2,687,455 8/1954 Norman 268-49 X 2,736,931 3/1956 Levine 20--19 3,136,538 6/1964 Dimmitt et al 20--19 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,334,712 7/1963 France.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examrinerl I. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE, AN ENTRY-WAY, A POCKET OF SUBSTANTIAL DEPTH LOCATED TO ONE SIDE OF THE ENTRY-WAY, A DOOR FOR SAID ENTRY-WAY MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCAL SLIDE MOVEMENT BETWEEN A NORMAL CLOSED POSITION OCCUPYING THE ENTRY-WAY AND AN OPEN POSITION OCCYPYING THE POCKET, SAID DOOR COMPRISING A FRAME SECTION GUIDABLY SUPPORTED FOR SAID SLIDE MOVEMENT AND A SWING SECTION HINGED TO THE FRAME FOR SWING MOTION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS WHICH LIES CLOSE TO THE POCKET SIDE OF THE ENTRY-WAY FOR MOVING THE IS IN SAID NORMAL CLOSED POSITION, MEANS FOR MOVING THE DOOR IN ITS OPENING SLIDE TRAVEL AND IN ITS CLOSING SLIDE TRAVEL, A NORMALLY INCOMPLETE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT NORMALLY CAUSED TO BE COMPLETED WHEN A PERSON ENTERS A GIVEN TRAFFIC LANE WHICH INCLUDES THE ENTRY-WAY, SAID ELECTRIC CIRCUIT BEING SO OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH THE DOOROPENING AND THE DOOR-CLOSING MEANS THAT A DOOR-OPENING EFFECT IS EXERTED WHEN THE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT IS COMPLETED AND A DOOR-CLOSING EFFORT IS EXERTED WHEN THE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT IS BROKEN, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CAUSING THE SAME TO BE MADE INCOMPLETE WHEN MANUAL PRESSURE, EXERTED IN A DIRECTION WHICH IS OUTWARD WITH RESPECT TO THE ENTRY-WAY, IS APPLIED AGAINST THE SWING SECTION WHILE THE DOOR IS IN THE PROCESS OF SLIDING OPEN. 